20 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[October 1, 1915. 



New Machines and Appliances. 



A NEW BIAS CUTTING MACHINE. 



GURDt).\'S invciuimi nlatcs to an improvement in bias- 

 cutting machines and particularly to those machines 

 adapted for cutting very wide sheets of rubber cloth. 



Referring to the illustration, in which like letters indicate like 

 parts in both drawings—. / designates the side fraires, B the roll 

 of frictioned fabric, C the fabric, and D the liner roller. The 

 fabric is passed over roller /:. down and around roller /•'. and 

 over roller O", all being positively driven from the belt pulley H 

 by spur and chain gearing. 



From the roller G the fabric passes down and under a weighted 

 roller / and then over the fabric guide / to the table. The 

 guide J consists of bent lingers, one set inclined to the right and 

 the other toward the left. Their forward ends are connected 

 with a slide .iperated liy a hand rod by which the fingers are 

 adjusted. 



The surface of the table is formed by a series of ribbed plates 

 K which are interrupted at intervals by spaces in which are 

 mounted transverse rollers /. which normally project above the 



IS tbi' same and the bridge is lilted evenly. The cutting is done 

 li> ibe downward stroke of tile bridge and shear. 



In front of the table is a carriage U, projecting beyond the 

 rear edge of which is a series of lower gripper fingers arranged 

 in line, with clearance notches. Co-acting with these lower 

 lingers is a corresponding series of upper fingers or grippcrs V 

 which arc connected with a rock shaft mounted in bearings on 

 the ends of the carriage. Secured to the rock shaft is a series 

 of rearwardly extending arms beneath which springs are placed 

 to force the grippers together. As the carriage moves toward 

 the cutters, the grippers are open, but when the grippers have 

 passed on the raising plate they are released by a lug striking a 

 stop which closes the grippers. just as the fingers enter tlie 

 notches in the raising-plate and while the bridge is raised. The 

 .^rippers come together to grip the edge of the fabric which has 

 been lifted from the lower knife by the raising plate, the edge of 

 the faliric being in line with and caught by the grippers. 



-Adjustably mounted on one of the tubular bearings is a cam 



J//^f EL [VAT/ ON 



plane of the table. These rollers are mounted so that they can 

 be dropped below the plane of the table. 



At the forward end of the table is a lower knife M which 

 extends diagonally across the frame at an angle of 45 degrees. 

 Above this knife is a transverse plate that is raised and lowered 

 by rod A', a bell-crank lever, and a cam, driven from the main 

 shaft O. Above the plate is a strip of card cloth beneath which 

 the fabric passes and which prevents the fabric from creeping 

 backwards while permitting it to be drawn forward. Co-acting 

 with the lower shear .1/ is a movable upper shear P, which is 

 fixed to the bridge Q. The bridge and shear are raised by ver- 

 tical rods R, R, connected to bell crank levers S, S. The front 

 lever S is connected by the rod T to a lever that is rocked by an 

 eccentric attached to the main shaft 0. The opposite lever 5 

 is connected by a short rod to a similar lever and eccentric on 

 the same shaft so that the movement imparted to the rods R, R 



11' which determines the extent to which the fabric is drawn for- 

 ward before the cutting takes place, and on the end of the rock- 

 shaft is an arm which engages with this cam to open the gripper 

 fingers. As the carriage moves forward the grippers are opened 

 and the strip of fabric released, the machine being timed so 

 that the cutter descends when the carriage reaches the liinit of 

 its forward movement. The severed portion of the fabric drops 

 on aprons A' driven from a roller and running over adjustalile 

 rollers Y at the forward end of the machine. 



With this machine the fabric is drawn on the table and spread 

 out flat and any tendency to creep to one side is overcome by the 

 warp fingers. If the fabric creeps to one side or the other, by 

 manipulating the fingers which spread the fabric toward opposite 

 sides its course may be properly directed through the machine. 

 [William A. Gordon, assignor to Birmingham Iron Foundry,. 

 United States patent No. 1,148,162.] 



